Chinese consortium to buy Asia Capital Reinsurance of Singapore

Chinese consortium to buy Asia Capital Reinsurance of Singapore

A consortium of two Chinese state-owned companies has reached an agreement for the acquisition of Asia Capital Reinsurance (ACR), according to a statement by the reinsurer based in Singapore.

Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings Co. and Shenzhen Investment Holdings Co. have joined forces to purchase the entirety of ACR from its shareholders, which include Singaporean state investment fund Temasek Holdings, Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd., and Marubeni Corp., a Japanese industrial conglomerate. The deal is estimated to be worth US$1 billion.

Another shareholder of ACR, 3i Group of the UK, said that it will sell its stake in ACR for US$232 million, with the deal expected to be done in 2017. In 2006, 3i invested US$200 million in the Singaporean reinsurer.

As if on a global shopping spree, Chinese investors have frequently targeted insurance companies. According to Dealogic data, China has had outbound investments reaching a record-high US$174 billion from January to September of 2016.

Aside from the winning consortium, several other Chinese firms have joined the bidding, such as Foresea Life Insurance Co., a consortium of China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co. and Hong Kong’s Mason Financial Holdings Ltd., and Peak Reinsurance Co.